“I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.”—Luke 6:47 (NIV)
Every New Year’s day I ask the Lord to give me a word to focus on for the next twelve months. It doesn’t always come to me right away, but I keep my mind and my heart open and wait. Generally, within a week or two the word presents itself. Instantly, I know it’s the right one, and I ask God to use it to teach me the lessons I need to learn in the coming year.
This year as I prayed, my heart was heavy. My father has been seriously ill for a long while and was recently placed in a nursing home. My prayers were clouded with worries about what the future held for him and for my mother. Then it came to me that my word was surrender. The Lord was asking me to surrender my father to Him, to give Him all my worries and fears. It wasn’t the word I wanted.
As I drove to meet my walking partner for our morning walk, my eyes clouded with tears as I tried to imagine life without my dad. But as I drove past the Sun Trust bank, I blinked in amazement. Through my tears, the sign outside seemed to read SON TRUST. I stopped the car. Now I was sure God was asking me to put my trust in Him, to surrender my will to His. It wouldn’t be easy, but I knew that He would provide the grace required for the task.
Oh, Father, how grateful I am for Your promises. I surrender myself to Your precious will.
